


give me a (deck)hand

by Ludella



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Sailing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-04
Packaged: 2019-07-25 08:34:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16193909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ludella/pseuds/Ludella
Summary: Fjord discovers that Jester knows how to sail--after their ship has suffered multiple reef collisions. He can't imagine why she's hidden it from him.





	give me a (deck)hand

Fjord has to drag himself awake this morning in particular. Yesterday’s events getting over the reef had been rocky at best, and after everything, he wasn’t even able to have a nice sleep on the singular mattress on the ship. He thinks it was a poor call on his part, but maybe sacrificing his comfort for the ship’s sake is the singular thing keep his crew’s respect right now.

And that’s what weighs on his mind. After how irresponsibly he acted yesterday and proved just how unqualified he was for this position, there’s no doubt every hired hand is doubting their captain. He gets up earlier than he’s scheduled to relieve Jester of her post and covers his eyes as he opens the door to the deck of the ship.

“Hey, Jes, th--”

“When I said heel port I didn’t mean _throw us off the fucking ship_ ,” a cheerfully familiar but much deeper voice calls from the helm. “Is that what you’d like me to do to _you_?”

“N-No, ma’am, not at all! We’re just, uh, new to this?” Fjord narrows his eyes. That’s one of their deckhands, just a city boy they’d brought onto the sea. Slowly, he creeps along the bottom of the helm and listens in.

“Well you better get used to it because _someone_ is gonna have to learn how to steer this ship! Now come on, let me see you get us on starboard track!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

He climbs up the top just as the frightened deckhand in question reassumes his spot at the wheel. Jester stands behind him, teetering on the rail at the very back of the ship with her arms crossed proudly over her chest. Her eyes are trained on the sails, watching as the few crew on deck communicate with each other before she finally meets Fjord’s eye.

“Oh,” she says, the deep, commanding voice she’d used with the previous sailor immediately dropped. She smiles bashfully and hops down from the rail, crossing her hands behind her back. “Good morning, captain! Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

“I thought I’d let you get a little more rest if you wanted to return to your quarters,” Fjord says. “But it seems like that wasn’t... necessary?” He gestures out at the rest of the ship, watching as the orderly crew moves about and actually talks to each other to steer the ship to Jester’s command. “Jester, what’re you... why’re you? You know how to _sail_?”

“No, no!” she says quickly, shaking her head. “Of course I don’t know how to _sail_ , silly! You are the sailor, mister big strong captain who is _soooo_ much more qualified than any of us! Psh, me, sailing? Just because I am blue and raised in a port city does not mean I can _sail_.”

He stares her down, eyes unyielding.

Jester huffs a deep breath and stares right back at him. 

And quickly gives in before even ten seconds have passed. “Alright, geez, fine, I can sail, stop _harassing_ me!” she exclaims, throwing her hands in the air. “You are so not gentle with women Fjord, I can’t believe you would be so harsh!”

“Jester, why... _why_ would you hide the fact that you know how to sail?” he asks, pinching the bridge of his nose and trying to fight down the exasperation that seeps into his voice. “ _While we’re on a ship_?”

She looks away, pretending to be distracted by something in the clear nothingness of the sky that hasn’t changed the past few days. She teeters back and forth innocently on her feet while worrying the edge of her dress between her fingers. “Well, because... you know--you _know_ , Fjord?”

“I really don’t.”

“You’re the captain!” she shouts. “Everyone is finally depending on you and you get to look so cool and get everybody’s respect! And you look really leader-y and hot at the helm! I didn’t want to... y’know, _take_ that from you.”

He thinks back to events of the day before. All the reefs they ran into. All the damage to the ship they had done that could have _possibly_ been avoided if they had a single other person who knew the first thing about sailing on board.

Fjord takes another deep, steadying breath. “Jester, it’s a great thing you know how to sail, you shouldn’t hide it for the sake of my--what, my pride?”

“Your dignity,” she corrects unhelpfully.

“Right, sure. It would be really helpful if--”

“Because you will look super lame if everybody finds out that you are not the only sailor and don’t have any distinguishing skills that sets you apart from the rest of us.”

“-- _you worked together with me_ because we need everything we can get right now,” he says, the last part through gritted teeth as he tries to ignore her words. He didn’t feel ashamed at all by the prospect of anyone knowing how to sail, but when she phrases it like that, he feels like it _should_ hurt.

Not as much as their ship currently hurts, though. She smiles up at him coyly, still teetering on her feet as if she were the most innocent damsel in the land. “You want me to help you, Fjord?” He nods. “You want me to be... your _mate_?”

“My first mate,” he quickly corrects, heat rising to his face at the mischievous grin that spreads to her face. She opens her mouth to say something and he quickly cuts her off. “Not my anything else mate, not my first anything besides mate--my first mate and that’s _it_.”

“Not even your first lovely beautiful sweetheart talented and gorgeous mate?”

Fjord comes to stand in front of her, releasing an exasperated sigh through hi smile as he pulls the tiefling to his chest in a mock noogie. “All of those things, maybe, but separately.”

“Oh, Fjord!” Jester coos, easily breaking out of his hold and jumping up to drag the half-orc down by his neck until he’s crouched into her side in a much more efficient (and actually quite painful) noogie. “You are the sweetest captain, even if you really suck at it!”

“Why can’t you ever just leave it at the compliment?”

**Author's Note:**

> [@ludella](ludella.tumblr.com)


End file.
